Farmers and Opposition politicians on the steps of SA’s Parliament House last week. The group includes Frome MP Penny Pratt and SA Opposition leader Vincent Tarzia (front from left) and Shadow Primary Industries Minister Nicola Centofanti (second from right in second row). Photo: Vincent Tarzia MP

AS SOUTH Australia’s northern pastoral districts receive some much-needed rain, conditions in many of its grain-growing regions remain the driest on record.

It means many of the state’s farmers-graziers have limited or negative cash flow, and meeting overheads related to cropping inputs, supplementary feed, and regular payments on loans and services is getting  harder.

In order to put the plight of farmers in front of the SA Government, the SA Opposition last week coordinated a group of farmers, including Mid North producer Andrew Kitto, to attend question time in SA’s Parliament House in Adelaide last Thursday.

The SA Government in December announced an $18-million drought infrastructure rebate scheme, and around $2M of that total is believed to have been spent on subsiding fuel for hay offered from organisations including Aussie Hay Runners.

SA producers say more funds are urgently needed, particularly to get hay to livestock as SA’s fodder reserves become critically low.

Pressure to fund sheep feed

Mr Kitto, who runs a family mixed farming operation at Gladstone, accepted his invitation from Member for Frome Penny Pratt to visit Parliament House alongside other primary producers battling drought, and Opposition politicians.

“It was to see if we can talk through some of the issues that are arising and convey to powers that be the things that need to be addressed,” said Mr Kitto, who started speaking in the media in October last year about the record low rainfall.

As a contract harvester, his 2024 area was around one quarter its normal size due to crops not being planted or harvested because of the dry conditions, but he said livestock with its mouths to feed year round was where the most acute pain was being felt.

“We’re mostly cropping, but we do run sheep on some non-arable country.

“We have a small White Suffolk ram stud, and now we’re down to core breeding stock.

“We’ve sold all of our Merino ewes; we’ve gone from 1200 sheep to 150.”

Andrew Kitto’s dog Cooper surveys a PIRSA lucerne trial on the family farm at Gladstone today, where the impact of SA’s drought can be seen. Photo: Andrew Kitto

The Kittos bought hay in May last year because chances of them producing enough themselves to get them through to spring 2025 were slim, and feed budgets prompted them to reduce their flock by close to 88 percent.

Mr Kitto said others were buying in feed to keep their breeding flock going.

“Some people have ewes late in lamb, and they can’t sell them at that stage.”

He bought in some barley last year to supplement the small harvest coming, which ended up yielding 300kg/ha of cereals, compared with their long-term average of 3.5-4t/ha.

“We’ve had our driest start to the year on record; we’ve had 2mm for the year so far, and the last rain we got last year was 5mm in early December.”

Govt’s drought preparedness seen lacking

In October, Mr Kitto was one of a group of farmers in Gladstone, followed by a group at Mallala, who met with Opposition leader Vincent Tarzia and Shadow Primary Industries Minister Nicola Centofanti to discuss the drought.

In a statement, Mr Tarzia said last week’s visit by the farmer group showed that farmers were “begging for a lifeline”.

“These hardworking South Australians are now taking matters into their own hands, coming to Parliament House because they’re tired of waiting for this government to deliver.

“The support so far has been insulting to farmers, who have waited up to three months for a $5000 rebate, a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed.

“Six months ago, the Opposition called on Labor to ensure drought preparation was a priority.

“Now, we’re deep in a drought and farmers are scrambling for feed, forced to sell livestock at a loss because they can’t afford to keep them, and are facing low yields that’ll hurt them for years to come.”

Dr Centofanti said SA Premier Peter Malinauskas had recently showed how out of touch he was when he flagged that more drought support may become available in the State Budget in June.

“These farmers have waited long enough, and the sad reality is, they can’t hold on for much longer, let alone another three months,” Dr Centofanti said.

“They deserve a Government that will listen and support them because agriculture is truly the lifeblood of South Australia.

“Our farmers need support, and they needed it yesterday.

“The Labor Government must deliver relief – this could be through measures such as additional funding for charity hay delivery, subsidies for water carting, and low or no-interest loans for essentials such as fodder and fertiliser.”

Grain Central: Get our free news straight to your inbox – Click here